Archive of Our Own

It began in the morning, when Amity's first class at Hexside featured the teacher rearranging the entire seating chart. She'd gotten comfortable with the people she was next to, but now she had to work with students she didn't know. Not to mention that her new spot was way up in the front, where she'll be scrutinized more and has to constantly listen to people murmuring from behind her.

Her second class is with Luz, but today, that didn't make a difference. Everyone was paired into groups randomly, and Luz and her were not together. What was supposed to be a fun field trip to the forest ended up being a total nightmare. Birds and other flying demons terrorized half the students for the entire hour, and Amity somehow managed to track dirt and mud on every part of her uniform, despite never even tripping.

Then of course lunch had to go wrong. It just wouldn't fit the atmosphere otherwise, huh? Somehow, Amity had forgotten her packed lunch at home, which meant she had to go through the line to get food. Luz offered to share her own, but Amity wasn't about to take her girlfriend's food from her.

The line was long and loud, everyone on both sides of her engaged in constant conversation as the girl stood by herself in the middle. When she finally got to the front, none of today's meal looked enticing at all. But she grabbed it regardless, and began eating after she sat down. The textures of the food made her heavily uncomfortable, but she chose to eat them anyway, wanting to have food in her for a test in her fourth hour. Can't think on an empty stomach.

In the middle of her third period however, the aforementioned meal from lunch started to make its presence known in her. Stomach pains and cramping made it nigh impossible to get anything done, and that wasn't helped by the annoyance of that hour being by far the most rowdy and raucous group of students on her schedule.

She ended up going to the bathroom for the last twenty minutes of class. She didn't actually have to go, and she's always despised public bathrooms, but she couldn't bear dealing with that tiny classroom full of shouting voices.

That only caused her another issue, though, and she ended up spending an extra five minutes at the sink in there, making sure she scrubbed every inch of her body that had touched a bathroom surface. The idea that even a tiny part of her had scraped against something so dirty was enough to make her anxious.

Upon leaving, she used her hand to open the door, propped it up with her foot, and then washed said hand again, making sure the door didn't graze any of her skin on the way out. She hoped nobody was watching this unusual display.

Her final hour seemed like it would be the one saving grace. She could go in, take her test, and feel proud about having completed it. But when she went to take her notes out, it took much more of a search than she was anticipating. Anxiously surfing through her things, Amity finally found them, though the fact it took so much effort was enough to make her irrationally angry, as well as embarrassed that she was so unorganized.

Then came the exam. Question after question, things she had no hope of answering correctly, concepts she knew she should have mastered long ago, but had never fully grasped and would rather improvise than ask for help. But this was one of the few times her natural intuition didn't serve her, and Amity's all but sure she failed this test.

Even worse, on her way out, the girl noticed an assignment in her backpack, one for third hour she'd forgotten to turn in, since she was in the bathroom.

Now she not only had to take a dip in grading for it being late, but also had to go back to said classroom and speak to the teacher one on one about the situation.

She takes a deep breath and makes it as quick as possible, but somehow every time she has to have a conversation with an authority figure, her voice begins to stutter, her face becomes bright red, and she can't shake off the feeling of wanting to cry. This one is no different.

Okay, breathe, Amity, breathe. The school day is over. It was a terrible day, but it's done. She still has four more days in the school week, but today is done.

Luz is waiting for her! She almost forgot. They were gonna head over to her place and hang out.

She kinda doesn't want to.

Why does she feel like that? Is Amity a bad girlfriend? Luz is like, the best thing to ever happen to her, yet right now, there's nothing she wants more than to not have to deal with her.

She pushes back tears as she exits the main doors, feeling absolutely awful for Luz that her girlfriend is thinking that about her.

She has to hang out with Luz. Especially after those horrible thoughts. She has to make it up to her.

It occurs to Amity that Luz cannot hear her internal discussion, and is entirely unaware Amity was thinking 'I don't want to deal with her', but she still feels she has to make it up to Luz.

Even if it's all internal and can't hurt Luz's feelings, the fact that if said aloud, it might, makes it count just as much for Amity, and it hurts deeply to picture this imaginary Luz affected by those words.

Luz exaggerates her excitement upon seeing Amity, waving her arms in the air and running up to her, mouth moving a mile a minute.

"My sweet potato!" She exclaims, giving Amity a hug. The taller girl squirms a little at the touch, unenthusiastically returning the hug. "You still wanna head over to your place?" She asks.

Nope. Amity doesn't. At least not with Luz. And it's not specific to her or anything, Amity doesn't wanna be with anyone right now. 'People' are a very annoying concept at the moment.

But she can't let Luz down. Like, just two minutes ago, she was thinking about not wanting to deal with Luz at all. That's already bad enough, rejecting Luz's proposition here would be needlessly cruel.

Even if no one, especially Luz, would agree with that description. Other than Amity herself, quite literally the only person with access to this thought process.

She nods. She wants to say something to Luz about how hard a day this has been, but she doesn't. Luz shouldn't be burdened by all that. So she just agrees.

When the two get to Blight Manor, Luz makes her way to the bathroom to clean up, and Amity heads to her room to make sure it actually looks okay before Luz steps foot in there.

None of her family members are home. Amity remembers her father had to meet with some Bonesborough officials about something, and she thinks the twins mentioned a new after-school club they were in.

At least that means it's quiet. Still doesn't take away from the overwhelming fed up feeling she has, but it's one less thing to worry about.

When she opens her bedroom door, however, Amity finds herself gawking at what is absolutely something to worry about.

Why is her bookcase over there? Who moved it? There's a few boxes of old nick nacks in the spot it used to be, some of those boxes the family's been bringing upstairs now that Odalia is gone. The dresser is at a weird angle too, and all of the other furniture sans the bed has been rearranged in completely nonsensical ways.

Dad. He didn't have to do that. Why would he do that? What kind of idiot thinks it's okay to move somebody's stuff without their permission? THIS IS NOT OKAY. It is not acceptable. Someone should be punished for this.

Titan, it makes her angry. Violently so, actually. Her face flushes red, teeth and fists clenched, and her entire body tenses like a clothes hanger, each joint hinging only as much as it needs to.

She wants to scream, but Amity knows Luz is still in the house. So she reacts in the first way that comes to mind.

Swiftly acting, Amity kicks a large clear bin across the room, its contents spilling all over the floor. Then she does another. These boxes are heavy, but she doesn't stop to think, just hits them with all her force. Her toes ache in her socks, but at least she didn't break any of them.

When she runs out of bins to send flying, Amity immediately searches for anything else to release her rage on, jumping up and down as her feet stomp into the floor. It feels absolutely terrible, but it'd be easier to stop a train than for her to stop this behavior.

She throws a punch at the wall, but that only infuriates her more, Amity kicking into the ground with enough force to make it shake. She grabs the sides of her hair, twisting and pulling them, but forces herself to stop when all that creates is more anger and pain.

Her hands are clenched so tightly she's sure her nails left marks on her palms, but she only pushes them further in, grumbly sobs continuing to explode their way out of her throat.

She bends over for a moment, grasping her head and throwing it violently back and forth. It gives her an intense feeling of vertigo. She bashes her fists into both sides of her skull to combat the sensation, grabbing a book and throwing it into the floor. Why did she even do that? She likes that book and it really didn't deserve to be disrespected like that.

She gets down to her knees to inspect it, but realizes that she can't be holding this book any longer or there will be a lot of ripped paper all over the floor. Stopping herself from causing that, she bashes her face with it, nearly hitting herself in the eyes, and throws it behind her with a loud thud, then she grasps for the fibers of the rug, obviously unable to do them any real damage, so she pounds her fists on them instead, crying into the carpet.

"Amity!"

…

No. No. Luz is going to hate her. There's no way Amity can recover from this. She freezes, not sure how to even explain what was going on, but the anger in her completely returns when Luz grasps her shoulder.

She throws Luz's hand back, unintentionally tensing her body in a way that makes it look like she's about to hit Luz.

No matter how angry she is, she would never even think of doing that. But Luz doesn't know that, does she?

And still caught up in the heat of the moment, simply concerned for her girlfriend's well-being, Luz grabs her hand this time, just trying to help her calm down.

But Amity's terrified, irritated brain takes the second incident of touch as a threat, and, before she can even attempt directing the anger elsewhere, Amity pushes Luz hard. The girl hits the floor just as hard, and it takes multiple seconds for her to recover. There are tears in her eyes.

Amity is completely unsuited to process this right now. One part of her is still angry, still lashing out, and it's saying that it doesn't care and what Amity did was deserved.

But the other is unequivocally heartbroken. It's bawling uncontrollably to her, asking- no, pleading how could you? And she knows it's right, because how could she possibly do something so horrible to Luz, the person she loves and values more than she can explain?

You don't do that to someone you love. It's wrong.

Both sides crash violently into each other, Amity going down with a violent and sobbing crash as her legs give out and she careers into the wall, sliding down it to the floor. Her heart is crying out what is wrong with me? At the same time, her vocalizations come out as incoherent sobs, and she pounds her fists against the wall angrily.

Of course, doing that only makes her more irritated, and she slinks down to the floor, choosing to stop releasing her anger on the rest of the room, and instead herself. Frantically, Amity begins to scratch her face, then her arms, randomly and violently attacking both, leaving marks on herself.

"Amity, Amity!" Luz exclaims, rushing to her side. Panicked, she watches Amity continue for a few seconds, before deciding to grab her arms.

The sensation of touch is beyond painful, and she tries to continue letting whatever she's letting out, out, in the form of kicking her legs. Occasionally her knees or feet do make contact with Luz, although she keeps a firm grasp around Amity's wrists.

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry!" Luz says, tears falling from her eyes. "I can't let you hurt yourself, okay? I want you to try something but I need you to not hurt yourself."

Amity cannot speak. She tries to get something out but not even a squeak comes out of her mouth.

"It's okay if you can't talk, that's okay," Luz says. "Okay, I'm gonna let go of you and I want you to stim. Just stim as hard as you can, as much as you need. I'm gonna do it too, so you can follow my lead. Okay?"

Just like before, Amity does not confirm anything verbally, though her eyes say something that tell Luz she understands.

Carefully, Luz realizes Amity's wrists, immediately rocking her own.

"Okay. Okay. Stim with me, sweetness," Luz says, her voice cracking at the pet name.

Watching Luz display the movement, Amity immediately imitates it, rocking both of her wrists back and forth, side to side.

"That's great. You're doing so great," Luz says softly. "Here, you wanna try this too?" Luz stands up. Rhythmically, she taps her feet against the floor in a fast motion. "Can you do that for me?"

Amity nods. Yes, she nodded! That wouldn't have been possible a minute ago, but it's manageable now. She begins to follow Luz's example, shaking her feet more than tapping them, as she is laying on the floor.

"Okay," Luz whispers. She adds, "Now, do you want me to shut up?" She asks, knowing that noise and especially voice is something her girlfriend is sensitive to.

Amity laughs at Luz's bluntness, and it surprises even herself. "Y- yeh." She manages to spit out.

"Okay. I'm gonna keep stimming, you can watch me if you need to, or you can close your eyes," She says, and Amity nods, finding the courage to close them.

She continues like that for- three? Five? Ten? Minutes. She isn't sure, but after a while, it feels calmer, it's less scary, and it doesn't feel like stimming is the only way to keep herself under control. So slowly, she stops.

Her eyes are still closed, so she has no way of knowing what Luz is doing. And she doesn't want to know. She's sure the other girl must have left the room, hurt by her thoughtless actions from before, the ones that flood her mind immediately with guilt once she regains herself.

But when she opens her eyes, Luz is still there, her eyes hesitantly observing Amity as she's casually sitting on the floor.

"Luz…" She manages to get out, softly and full of love. But her words are immediately forced to something else. "Aren't you mad?"

"Why should I be mad?" Luz asks softly.

"What?" Amity asks, the brainpower to interpret any kind of response, let alone that one at an all time low.

"I said, why should I?" She repeats. "I'm not mad."

"You're just saying that to be nice."

"I'm not just saying it," She says. "Amity, I'm not mad at you. I can tell something's up with you, if you wanna talk about it. I just wanna give you all the help I can."

"I don't deserve it," Amity says, her voice almost down to a whisper now.

"Hermosa, you deserve the whole world and more," Luz says sweetly. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I'm a bad girlfriend," She whispers, finally releasing the thought with her tears.

"Amity…" Luz says. "I don't think you're a bad girlfriend."

"I do." She says. "You deserve someone better."

Luz sadly sighs. "Why would I wanna be with somebody else when it's you that makes me so happy?"

"Because I'm a freak. And I hurt you. And I don't want to hurt you again," She says.

Luz stays silent for a second, and Amity's not sure if she's just thinking or if Luz is actually accepting Amity's words as truths. They are. And as much as it hurts to tell Luz that, she should know. Luz should know everything, all of her flaws and the things that make her so terrible.

Even though she'll definitely want to leave Amity because of it, she needs to know.

"Amity. Look. You're my girlfriend," Luz finally says. "I love you. And I know something's wrong, and I hate seeing you hurt. It doesn't matter how much your brain hates you right now, I don't. But I can't help you if you don't let me," She continues, heartfelt. "I know it feels bad, and you think you hurt me. Even if I can't convince you that's not true, letting yourself hurt like this would be what really hurts me. So please," She begs, the words coming out filled with pain. "Talk to me."

Amity finally turns to look at Luz through watery eyes.

"Okay," She says. "Okay. I'll talk to you. But first, I need to apologize. Even if it's not a big deal to you, it is to me," Amity gestures. "So I'm sorry for pushing you, for hitting you. That wasn't okay, no matter how angry I was. There's no excuse for something like that. You shouldn't be treated that way, and I'm sorry. I never wanna do that to you ever again."

"It's okay," Luz says. "You weren't in control and I shouldn't have touched you. I know you like to have a heads up before being touched. So that was my bad, and you didn't do anything wrong. You just reacted. And the kicking thing - that was just natural. Another reaction you couldn't control. Not your fault."

"Luz, no," Amity says, shaking her head. "I know you just wanna make me feel better, and take away the guilt, but that doesn't mean it was okay," She takes a deep breath, rubbing her eyes. "You deserve an apology and I want you to acknowledge that I did something wrong. Not make excuses for me. It's really sweet but it's not helping. I'm sorry, Luz," She says again. "Do you forgive me?" Amity asks, extending a hand to the other girl.

Luz stares at it for a moment, then takes it with a bittersweet smile.

"Yeah," She says. "I forgive you, Amity. Thank you for apologizing. I accept your apology."

"Thank you for accepting my apology." Amity says. "Titan, I don't even know where to go from here. I kinda wanna say sorry again. I don't know."

"There's no rush," Luz says. "Take all the time you need. My ears are always listening."

"Yeah," Amity says. "Okay. I guess… today was really hard for me." She sighs. "And a lot of days are hard for me, but this one was really hard."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Luz asks.

"Yes," She nods. "Yes, I think I would. It just felt like everything was going wrong. Like, my class changed the seating chart, I had to talk to a teacher after class and you know how nervous that makes me," She groans. "I even forgot my lunch and had to completely change my expectations for what I was gonna eat," She says. "So much happened and it all felt so humiliating. And then by the end of the day I just wanted to be alone, but I didn't want to let you down…"

"Oh, mi corazón," Luz says lovingly, scooting up to the wall to sit beside her. "You don't have to do things just because I want to."

"I know. But I felt bad for even thinking that I didn't wanna hang out with you, and I thought turning you down would make you feel bad," She says. "I'm just so dumb."

"Amity, you're not dumb," Luz says. "You were just trying to be a good girlfriend. But there's nothing wrong with not feeling up to it, you know? You just gotta say the word, and we can cancel."

She nods. "Okay. It would've actually been fine, if it wasn't for this," Amity says, gesturing at everything. "I don't know why my dad moved all my stuff around, but it just made me so mad. And I was already mad from school. Ugh."

"I get it." Luz says. "It's overwhelming to have your routine broken in so many ways, isn't it? And to have all that happen in just one day? I'm sorry you had to deal with that, Amity."

"Thanks, Luz," She says.

"No problem," She offers a hand hovering above Amity's shoulder, asking if it's acceptable to touch her.

The cotton-candy haired girl smiles, grabbing Luz's hand with her own and placing it on the shoulder herself, caressing Luz's palm in the process.

"I love you so much, Luz," She says, meeting Luz's eyes in a spectacular aura of bittersweetness.

"And I love you, hermosa," Luz says, rubbing Amity's shoulder softly.

"I'm sorry for- you know," She repeats herself. "I know I said so already but it was really not right."

"Hey," Luz says, giving Amity a serious look. "It's okay. You know I forgive you."

"But I don't forgive myself." She says, staring off into space.

"Amity. Look." Luz firmly replies. "I know you think you hurt me, and that what you did was terrible. But I'm the person you 'hurt', right? So I'm the only one who can decide how your action should be viewed."

"I guess that makes sense." She mumbles.

"And I'm not angry with you, I'm not upset. I don't think you're a monster or a freak or anything, and I completely forgive you," She says. "I still think you're amazing, this doesn't change how I see you. So it shouldn't change how you see yourself. I don't believe you were in control of your actions there, so why would I hold them against you?"

Amity smiles lightly. "Okay." She says, slowly embracing Luz. "Wait," She pauses. "What do you mean I wasn't in control? You keep saying that." Amity asks. "I was the one freaking out, so…"

Luz holds her firmly, reflecting on the situation and how to introduce yet another concept to Amity. "Hmm. Well, if you're up for me explaining another autistic thing to you, I'm always willing."

"Luz, everytime you explain this to me it's like my entire life makes more sense," Amity says. "So yes. Please."

"Alright, so obviously what happened there - you were angry and irritated," She says. "And you did things you didn't even wanna do. You said today there were a number of bad things happening to you and seeing your room like this was the last straw. Am I right about all that?"

Amity nods, still so confused and saddened at the state of herself but wildly thankful that someone understands her as deeply as Luz does.

"What you described sounds really similar to an autistic meltdown," Luz says. "It's when an autistic person gets so overwhelmed with their situation that they lose control of their emotions. And this usually leads to anger. Like, a lot of it. But you can't control it."

"Wait," Amity says. "But isn't overstimulation basically that? Getting super overwhelmed? Why would getting overwhelmed make me super angry this time, when other times it just makes me uncomfortable?"

"There's a few differences," Luz says. "Meltdowns are usually a reaction to something more severe. Usually things that aren't easily fixable. Like, loud and annoying noises might suck, but you can usually run away. Or even if you can't, they won't go on forever."

"But this…" Amity comes to a realization. "This is a bigger thing. And if I wanna fix it, I actually have to move my stuff. I can't just walk away or ignore it. A lot of things were like that today."

Luz nods. "That's probably what caused a meltdown to happen instead of general overstimulation." She says. "But you just have to remind yourself that all problems are temporary, okay? All problems are fixable. Even really big ones have a solution."

"How do I stop myself?" Amity asks. "Like, say things have gone really bad, and I'm having a meltdown. How do I make myself stop?"

"Hmm." Luz ponders the question. "Well, like we did there, controlled stimming is usually the best way. You release a lot of energy that would've been used in more negative ways, and you calm yourself down quicker. So that. But when it comes to helping prevent it, I think I've got one idea." She turns to her backpack, which is slumped on the floor. Digging in the bag, she pulls out a small, round, colorful ball. "Here." She hands it to Amity.

The taller girl stares blankly at it for a moment, inspecting each side. Carefully, she squeezes it.

Luz giggles.

"What?"

"Sorry, sorry. You're just- really adorable and I love you," She squeaks out.

"Titan, Luz, you're so gushy," Amity says lovingly. "It's very sweet and I never want you to stop, though," She murmurs.

"Oh, in that case," She says mischievously. "Can I give you a lil' kiss on the cheek?"

Amity rolls her eyes, pretending she isn't completely enthralled with her girlfriend's cuteness and her antics. She leans into Luz as an expression of acceptance, and Luz leaves a tiny peck on her cheek. The touch feels… quite nice, actually.

"Oh! I almost forgot," Luz says, perking up. "How does it feel when you squeeze the ball?"

"Um," Amity squeezes it again, focusing on the sensation she gets from it. "Kinda nice, I think? It's definitely a way to release energy."

"Good!" Luz exclaims. "That's what it's supposed to be. It's called a stress ball, you can squeeze it to stay calm, or release stress, or just whenever you're feeling antsy. I have a bunch of them," She says, holding her backpack open to display at least a dozen different colors and designs of balls. "Take however many you want."

"Are you sure?" She asks, hesitant eyes darting between Luz and the toys.

"Of course!" She says enthusiastically.

Amity picks out a few with textures she likes.

"Thanks, Luz."

"No problem. There's a lot of toys like this made for neurodivergent people," She says. "They're for all kinds of things. Relieving stress, stimming, keeping focus… I've tried a lot of different ones, but the stress ball works for a lot of people, so I thought it made sense for you to try."

"Yeah," Amity says. "I like it. I was still feeling kinda angry before, but squeezing this is helping that go away."

"Cool." Luz says. "You can keep them. And I definitely recommend taking them to school with you, it can keep you grounded."

"Won't people look at me weird?" Amity says nervously. "They'll think I'm a freak for squeezing this thing like a maniac."

Luz frowns. "Amity, why is it you always use the word 'freak' when it's about this stuff? You know it's not true."

She sighs. "I just wanna be normal."

"Amity, you are normal," Luz says. "There's nothing weird about any of this. None of it's a bad thing. Being different, being neurodivergent, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Autism is beautiful, and I'd never trade having an autistic girlfriend for a neurotypical one."

Amity smiles bittersweetly.

"And also," She continues. "You'd be surprised at how many people use fidget toys like these. A lot of people are neurodivergent and you might not even know, and these things aren't even exclusive to neurodivergent people. They're a tool that can help anyone, but it's just neurodivergent people who benefit the most."

"So I won't look weird for using them in class?" She asks.

"No way. I've used fidgets for years and only rarely has somebody asked about it," She says. "And usually they're not even mean."

"Usually?" Amity's eyes widen in fear.

"I mean, some people are just mean in general," She says. "But that's the Human Realm and the Boiling Isles are way more tolerant anyways. Amity, if someone evers bothers you about being autistic, I'll, I'll…" She gets a serious look on her face, furrowing her brow in anger.

"Okay, okay!" Amity laughs. "Let's not go into anything drastic, alright?"

"Oh, don't worry, I didn't mean, like-" She punches the air in front of her to demonstrate. "But I would have a very serious chat with anyone mean enough to make it an issue."

"Luz," Amity smiles. "Okay, okay. I, um, I think I would do the same for you. If anyone ever made fun of you for your ADHD."

Luz giggles. "Aww, thanks, Amity." She holds her arms out to allow Amity the choice of burying herself in them. She slowly slips into Luz's hold, her head under her girlfriend's. "You're so precious."

"I just love you a lot, that's all."

"And I love you. A whooole bunch!" She exclaims, happily tapping her fingers onto each other as they are wrapped around Amity.

"Hey, Luz?" Amity asks, her tone darkening slightly.

"Yes, sweet potato?"

"Thank you for accepting me," Amity says happily. "Ever since you helped me realize I'm autistic, it's like everything about my life fits in place. Even if there's still a long journey for me to go, I know you're here for me and somehow you always know exactly what to say."

Luz smiles at the small girl in her arms. "Hey, if I can make one more neurodivergent person's experience easier, that's all I care about. I'm glad I'm able to help."

Taking a few calm breaths, Amity continues. "When I first learned about autism, and realized I was autistic, it was really hard for me not to see that as a bad thing. And it still kinda is hard. But with how much you reassure me, it's almost like now… I don't know," She says. "Sometimes I feel proud of it. Being autistic. Sometimes I do think, like you said, it's something beautiful. So thanks. I couldn't have gotten here without you."

"Aww, it's no problem at all, really," Luz says. "Just me telling it how it is, you know? I just want you to feel as comfortable with yourself as possible," She smiles. "You deserve that."

"Thank you so much, Luz." Amity says. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met."

"I dunno, have you met, uh, yourself?" She jokes. "Some pretty stiff competition there."

"You're so silly," She says. "I love it."

"Alright," Luz says with a finalizing sigh. "Do you want some help moving your stuff? It should go faster with me and my muscles," She says in a cool voice, flexing said non-existent muscles.

Amity giggles. "Would you really?" She says sweetly, sitting up from Luz's arms. "You're such an angel."

"And you're a cotton-candy haired goddess," Luz says with finger guns.

Red in the face, Amity replies, "Alright, Luzura, if you keep doing that, I will kiss you."

"Oh wow, what a threat," Luz says sarcastically, throwing up her arms in mock surrender.

"I think you underestimate how serious I am right now," Amity says, unable to stop the smile from appearing on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Luz says, standing up. "How about we save the kissing for after we get this done?" She adds, wiggling her eyebrows.

Amity gives a sly smile, moving to help Luz with an item of furniture. "You're amazing," She whispers, mostly to herself, but Luz hears it too.

"You're amazing, too," Luz whispers back, overly playing off that Amity totally wasn't meant to hear that.

Both girls giggle, faces only reddening more as the flirting increases over the course of the afternoon.

How wonderful it is to be understood.